(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stamping implement including a stamping element made up of a porous stamp compound having continuous pores and an ink retainer for supplying the stamping element with ink.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, a stamping implement called an impregnation stamp which uses a porous stamp compound having continuous pores capable of retaining ink such as sponge rubber etc., and hence does not need application of ink when stamped has been well known.
A stamping implement of this type has a detachable cap for protection of stamping face, hence the operator needs tedious handling of removal and attachment of the cap for every stamping and suffers the problem of their hands being smudged with ink from unintentional touch when the cap is removed and attached and also the losing of the removed cap.
In order to eliminate these problems, a stamping implement with an incorporated lid has been disclosed in the registered publication of Japanese Utility Model No. 2519833, devised by the present applicant. However, this configuration still needs a tedious operation of opening and closing the lid and also may have drawback of the material of the lid being damaged because the lid deforms every time it is opened. There also exists a stamping implement having a rotary lid in order to allow for smooth lid opening and closing. However, this configuration suffers from complicated lid assembly. Further, when the stamping implement is hand-carried, the lid may be opened unintentionally leading to ink smudge or leading to the drawback of the stamping face being damaged or dirtied with dust. Moreover, when the stamping element needs to be replenished with ink or the stamping unit as a whole needs to be replaced, the lid may be the obstacle that makes these operations difficult.
Stamping implements of this type may need the ink retainer to be replenished with ink. Further, the stamping element needs to be exchanged with another one having a different stamping face of characters. However, conventional stamping implements have needed the tedious work of removing the stamping element and/or ink retainer from the barrel body and hence there has been discontent because of the difficulties in performing these tasks.